


Title That Appeals to You [idk i'm horrible with titles]

by Oliverstorm



Category: Tales of Series, Tales of Xillia
Genre: GAYYYYYYYY, M/M, idk lots of hurtcomfort??? im super into that, kinda a passive thing i just started cuz im boring, lotsa language m8, plz ignore, preaze
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-02
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-18 18:23:31
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4716005
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliverstorm/pseuds/Oliverstorm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I guess something that I just started in the middle of class? Will passively work on this unless people pick up an interest, there's no true plotline yet but I'll figure it out aha. Lots of hurtcomfort and Ludger x Jude so if you're into that then whatever, I'm not the best writer. Go read a better fic. [these chapters will get longer, my firsts are always short]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hurt for All

**Author's Note:**

> CHAPTER 1 OF THE HURTCOMFORT
> 
> [please seriously go find a better fanfic I suck]

Whenever Ludger ran into the hallway, near the small cell where Jude was kept, his eyes opened slowly. Having been beaten and hurt for himself, Elle, and Ludger, he was surprised he was even conscious. The teen listened in vain as he heard the older other just dart past, hardly able to murmur out some kind of cry for help. Elle was a few cells down from him and Jude listened as she cried out, hearing her father. He heard but didn't process when she said he was two doors down and they had to hurry, Jude isn't going to live very long, they said they have 'plans' for him if Ludger doesn't surrender himself. Flinching, Jude raised one of his hands and touched a nasty cut on his head. Being a doctor himself, the researcher could tell that he needed serious medical attention, and fast. He gazed at blood on his fingertips and took in a shaky breath, rib cage hurting just like every part of him. No part of his body had escaped the abuse.

In the distance down the hall, Jude could hear Ludger struggling with the heavy locks. "Don't worry, Elle, I'll get you out." He promised and then footsteps were dashing his way. But the teen was concealed by shadows and hidden, the only evidence able to be seen of his being here was a blood trail trickling out from between the cell bars into the hallway from his body. "Jude? Hey, Jude! Which one are you in?" He tried to make some kind of sound, any kind. A weak pained groan was produced and he heard Ludger stop, a few past him. In a desperate attempt to be noticed now, Jude shifted in his position on the wall to make sound and managed to whimper out," L-Lud…ger…" The older finally stopped in front of his cage after all the clues and kicked the bars in frustration. "Jude! What did they do to you? Elle!"

Down in the little girl's cell, she was scared to speak but did so anyways. "H-he was hurt for you and me, and himself…"

Ludger was heard cursing under his breath and he yanked at the firmly set bars, knowing it was futile. "I promised…Jude, come to me if you can!" The teen breathes heavily and wheezed in pain while he crawled closer to his companion, hardly able to feel his left leg. "L-listen, Ludger. This…ah, this isn't up for debate. I-I can hardly…hardly move. Get Elle out of here first!" Jude felt his body seize and coughed, feeling more thick blood run from his mouth down his chin.

"Are you insane? You-both of you need a hospital, now!" Ludger exclaimed, hearing Elle start to cry down in her prison.

"G-get her out. I didn't get the sh-shit beaten out of me just so she and you could get captured." Jude growled, in frustration and anger and pain. "I'll be fine - I-I promise." A wrong movement made the teen grit his teeth and hiss, but refused to aid his pain any vocals.

Ludger was clearly at conflict. He stepped back a little bit. "You fucking idiot, you'd better not die." He finally muttered and ran down to Elle's cell to work on getting her free first. Satisfied that the older man had obeyed, Jude limped back to the dark end of the cell and leaned heavily against the wall, stifling another painful cough. He was famished, parched, aching and bruised everywhere. Every second, while being utterly exhausted, was terrifying. Given, there were no guards, but who knew when his captors would come down for the next torture session?

Finally, the tell-tale sign of Elle's freedom clicked from the lock and Jude heard the little girl's shoes hit the ground when she ran out of the cell and into her father's arms. 'He must have some kind of a lock picking device on him.' The injured teen thought and closed his eyes, able to relax perhaps a little easier now that she was free. But his own fate, that was still undecided.

"C-come back…when it's darker…" Jude wheezed out when he heard Ludger urging Elle to let go and run towards him. "They'll…they'll be back to check and make rounds too…" Ludger cursed under his breath at Jude and began to work at his lock.

"You're really an idiot if you think that I'm going to leave you when they notice Elle is gone. They'll kill you." The older other whispered, suddenly paranoid of being heard by said guards. 

"They won't…kill me…" Jude's eyes opened halfway and he blankly gazed at Ludger, breathing in a shaky sigh. "I won't let them, I-I promise…"

Above their heads, the heavy sounds of large feet walking resonated and Ludger stepped back. It was now or never - but if they left, Jude might not be here when he got back. "I will come back for you, Jude. I promise. I'll leave Elle in Milla's protection and she'll be safe. But you'd better still be here when I get back." Making some kind of an angered hiss, Ludger turned his back to Jude and grabbed Elle's hand, guiding the small, shaken girl and vanishing down an end of the corridor. Jude's eyes closed once the father and daughter left sight and let his body slip away, knowing right now sleep was what he needed, and this might be his last time to shut his eyes for a while.


	2. Keep With Your Own

A rude awakening jarred Jude out of his exhausted state and he struggled with sitting up. What had woken him was an incredibly loud screech of his cell door being opened. He hadn't even heard the lock being clicked open with a key. 'How nice it would have been, if Ludger had one of those.' The teen thought while gaining his orientation, eyes narrowing both on anger and adjustment to the light coming in. By now he'd stopped bleeding and the crimson liquid had dried to a sticky thickness against his clothes and skin. By far it had weakened Jude, but not broken him.

His captors, they were well masked and easily hid who they were from the youthful researcher. But then again, perhaps it was for the best that he didn't recognize them - sometimes kidnappers got too paranoid about releasing a victim once they knew they had seen their face. Though Jude had an exponentially growing dread that this wasn't a mere money desperation act but instead a hate crime, against either himself or Ludger. The researcher was known for his work on sprytes and no dip off the street would take him without a reason. Despite feeling weary, Jude sat up taller and forced his eyes open more, his tattered pride still intact. It seemed as though these people hadn't realized the desertion of Elle quite yet.

His mouth shut by choice, Jude was scared inside but held his ground fearlessly. As the rusty door was unhinged further, one of the people stepped in and looked down at him judgmentally, as if sizing him up. "Jude Mathis…the once wanted criminal of the land. You had a bright future, didn't you? Until you encountered Maxwell."

Milla? What kind of basic level questions were these? Anyone could know this history and if they were trying to get in his head, it wouldn't work. Jude had never felt anger towards the spirit goddess and didn't regret what had happened in the past. The researcher kept quiet, just silently glaring with much hostility in his eyes. How dare he be accused of feeling rage towards one of his friends.

"So it seems I'm incorrect? You like the fact that your life has led you to this moment?" The man pacing in front of Jude paused in front of the teen, making a sudden angry noise and kicked his side, forcing Jude to lose his silent posture and yelp. Mercilessly he was attacked again, a foot meeting his ribs and he spat out blood. This relentless attack let up after a few more moments, the predator stepping back with a satisfied sniff.

He turned away from the defeated prisoner and snapped a few orders to the people who had been guarding the door. It was quickly closed with haste and the sound of footsteps began to slowly fade down the hall. Jude clutched at his chest tightly, struggling to regain breath and keep his head. Passing out now would be utterly humiliating, and of no aid. His captor's voiced echoed down from far away, the words causing despair to pierce Jude.

"You should've kept to your own, Mathis."


	3. Vanessa Carlton Rocks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listening to a variety of music right now while typing this, because I have nothing better to do, and just...let's get an amen for Vanessa Carlton, hm? Go check her out if you haven't heard her before. 10/10 musical artist, beautiful singing and dancing.

Getting in the last time had been a piece of cake for Ludger. Believe it or not, the defenses were more down during the middle of the day versus the night. Ludger had, on some whim of ambiguity and anger, managed to sneak past two guards who seemed to half-ass their jobs. They were probably bad mercenaries, like Alvin. Well, he wasn't a bad mercenary, but Jude sure liked to tease him about that.

Jude. Ludger gritted his teeth in anger while sneaking inside of the camp-building, trying to calm himself. If they had hurt him, at all, they would regret the smallest cut. From the first fight that they had done together on the train to this point, the man had grown affections for the teen genius. At first, these feelings had been foreign and unfelt, until Ludger realized this is what he had felt for Elle's mom. And Elle? Oh, these people were going to receive hell for hurting his daughter. And, without mercy, they would pay for taking the two things that he loved.

Jude had been merely a wanderer whenever him and Ludger had met, and now were living in the same apartment. The researcher often insisted on helping to pay the endless debt, for rent, for food, for anything, because he felt like he was taking advantage of the older other. And it wasn't turned down, as guilty as that made Ludger himself feel. In some parts, yes, the debt had been Jude's fault. But what else was he supposed to do? Jude hadn't been willing to risk any horrible injuries on Ludger and Elle just because he was cheap. And he was a good person, helping to pay it back. Ludger's favorite part of being with Jude, for sure, was whenever they were fighting together. He lived for the feeling of his back against the other's, knowing that he could trust someone.

And that's why he had to get Jude back, because he cared about him and the trust they had would be broken if Ludger just left him. The note that had been left in the apartment had caused cold, scary chills to run down his arms and back. 'We have your daughter and Jude. I will not hesitate to bring harm onto them if you do not do exactly as I order. Wait for further instruction and do not attempt anything, or else.' The last two words had threateningly been bolded and underlined, oddly in pencil versus the rest of the note, which was typed up to avoid leaving fingerprints. Smart people were always dangerous to deal with. But Ludger had disobeyed the note's orders because if he could save both his loves, then there was no need to be scared of them being hurt.

That's why being forced to leave Jude had nearly killed him inside.

Ludger, as he was running away with Elle, was clinging onto the promise that Jude had sworn whenever he had to go. 'They won't…kill me…I won't let them, I-I promise…' Remembering all of the blood, how difficult and painful it was for him to talk, it made his grip unintentionally tighten on his daughter's arm. He muttered a soft apology and picked Elle up, holding her close against his chest and came out the same way that he had come in. A simple side door that was probably used to take out trash or something. Ludger winced whenever the bright light hit his face and shielded his eyes to see, the longer they stayed here, the less time they had to come back and save Jude from whatever hell he could be getting himself into. Half blinded, he now sprinted to avoid being seen and kept up the pace, chest straining to get enough air and legs aching, until they were far away from the fort. Each step was relief and regret in the most painful swirl of confusion he had ever been in.

Setting the small girl down so he could breathe, Ludger leaned against a tree and finally relaxed for a second, breaths coming in short bursts and pants. He closed his eyes and slid down, feeling Elle sit beside him and hold his hand, shaking. His fingers gently closed around her small hand and he opened his eyes to look at his daughter, who was clearly terrified. "You're safe now, Elle. I'm going to have Milla take care of you while I save Jude, because he's still in danger." His daughter's wide stare looked confused, which was understandable. Ludger took a few more moments sitting down and then got to his feet again, still holding her hand. At a fast but not sprinting pace, eventually the pair reached their living town and with a quick pace up the stairs, chancily ran into Milla in the hallway. The spirit goddess's gaze flooded with clear relief when she saw the two of them, and then worry. "Ludger, I saw the note that was left on your table. Where is Jude?"

Gently pushing Elle towards his friend, Ludger spoke very rushed. "He's still back where I found Elle. I-I don't know if he's okay, we had to go or else all three of us would have been trapped. He was really beaten up and hurt when I found him, but he insisted that I take her back before getting him."

Milla pressed Elle against her side, and she didn't resist, finding comfort in the spirit goddess's touch. "So you must go back, and you're entrusting me with your daughter. Do not fear, Ludger. I will protect her no matter what. Would you like someone to go with you? Alvin, or Rowan, or someone?"

"No. The more people there are, the higher the chances of us getting caught are." And also, in some egotistical lens, Ludger wanted Jude to see him as his solo hero, the only one who had rescued him. And...and if he failed, he wanted to seem like the single person to blame. The man took a few steps forward, crouching down in front of Elle and put his hands on her shoulders. "I will come back with Jude, Elle, I promise. We'll both be safe soon. Just do not leave Milla's side and do whatever she tells you, even if it doesn't make sense. Do you promise?"

Her voice trembling, Elle looked back at her dad and gave a tiny nod. "I-I do promise, Daddy." She stepped away from Milla and put her arms around Ludger tightly, who returned the affectionate gesture and held firmly for a few long moments, breathing in her scent, and then regretfully letting go. He got to his feet again and spoke," Thank you, Milla. I owe you everything." She gave a confirming nod and held onto Elle's hand, watching Ludger spin on his heel and dart back to the elevator and take it down to the first floor to traverse away again.


	4. Chapter 4

'Keep with my own? What the hell does that mean?' Jude was thinking to himself whenever he heard the sounds of his captors leaving, he'd refused to make any more noises of pain than he already had. Giving them that would be like surrendering and giving up his dignity and glory. Like hell that would happen. Grinding his teeth together, Jude's fingers shook when he tore off some of his shirt and began to wrap the ripped cloth around some of his hurt wounds. Preferably he would have had some ointment and proper bandages, but that wasn't going to happen. Not for a while, not until Ludger got back.

Where was Ludger...? Hopefully safe and far away with Elle. Jude was certain he would have heard some kind of alarm if there was an infiltration. Nevertheless the genius found himself worrying about the older other, fretting about his safety, as well as his daughter's. What if they had gotten captured whenever escaping? Then they would have been brought down here, so that option was out. Unless they were forced to some other cell-holding place. If Ludger was being tortured, though, Jude could've heard it. He had known the other to be loud on the battlefield, whether winning or losing, healing or hurt. And he would be screaming with rage if Elle was in pain.

With a few winces of pain, Jude drew his knees closer to his chest and hugged himself, eyes darting from one side of the cell to the other. There was nothing to do down here, he was probably going to die from a stressed heart attack if anything else. He could hear his own breaths coming out more strained and forced himself to settle a little bit, eyes closing for a few long seconds while he focused on breathing. One thing at a time, first, breathe without sounding like a packhorse. After each inhale and exhale was quieter, the teen was figuring out where the worst areas of pain were. Surely there were a few broken ribs from the violent kicking and how difficult it was to get air into his lungs, a nasty cut on his forearm, and a head wound that had trickled for at least an hour and gave Jude a severe headache. His fingers reached up and gently touched the area, flinching and drawing the digits away to see half-dried sticky blood. Then there were minor bruises and cuts, but those three were the most painful injuries.

Staying calm was the most important thing to remember in these situations. If one panicked, then they could get out of control and injure themselves even more like a horse caught in mud on a rainy day. An easily avoidable situation, as long as Jude kept his head. Though it was hard to, between the hurt and the constant sounds of feet overhead and - was that a door opening, already? The tormentors had just left. Bracing himself for more of this merciless abuse, Jude steeled his glare and defiantly kept his eyes trained on the door of the cell to see who was coming.

To his relief, it wasn't who he thought was coming, but instead who he was hoping for.

"Y-ah, you damn idiot, you're...back fast..." Jude smirked a little when he saw Ludger instantly gravitate towards his cell, his grip so tight that he could practically see the whites of his knuckles. The other made an angry 'tsk' sound and pulled out something that resembled a hair pin, starting to work the same technique that he had probably done on Elle's cell to get her out.

"Of course I came back for you, Jude. I wouldn't ever leave you behind, especially not in a place like this." Ludger's fingers worked fast, but to both of their dismay, the sounds overhead seemed to be getting closer to the entrance to the prison. It was like a sick game that the tormentors were unaware they were partaking in - causing the pair to be on the edge of terrible anxiety and fear, for each other. The darkness around them made it very difficult to see what the older other was doing, but soon the tell-tale click was heard and the door was creaked painfully slowly open. Jude was already struggling to get on his feet when Ludger was in front of him like a heartbeat, unintentionally pressing the younger of the pair against the wall and made him squeak. Ludger's face was buried in Jude's neck and the younger could feel his heartbeat when he put his hand onto his chest to try and push him away. The passionate embrace only lasted for a few more short moments until the older made himself let go, with concerned eyes looking over his friend.

"What the hell did they do to you, Jude...?" Ludger's voice was sharp with anger, something that Jude didn't hear very often from the other. He was generally cool and kept his head no matter what situation they were in. "Well, uh...I've al-ready done...what I can, to the worst..." Jude murmured quietly, both from his hurt and fear of the upstairs predators. There was no way that he, limping like this and hardly able to breathe after standing up - with help - would be able to get out in a timely, safe manner. As if already thinking ahead, Ludger positioned himself to be in a place where he could pick Jude up, much like he had with Elle. After all, he was short. A sharp cry of protested escaped him, but he quieted himself by gritting his teeth and trying to block out the searing pain, this was the only way that they could have any shred of hope getting out alive. To show that he was okay, or at least partially, he crackled a little smile and whispered," Thank you...Ludger..."

"Save the sweet talk until after I save you." Normally Ludger wouldn't have spoken such daring words, especially not to someone he was crushing on, but the adrenaline from this whole episode was causing him to be a little reckless. And Jude, he was looking so cute rolling his eyes, despite having blood and torn clothing all over him. "I'll ask the questions after we get out of here." Each step that he took clearly caused Jude to wince, but he said nothing. Complaining now would only slow down the process of escape, and if they couldn't achieve that, then even more hurt was going to be inflicted onto not just the original receiver, but his savior also.

'How did you even get in here?' Jude was thinking whenever he gazed up at Ludger, who was glaring suspiciously at probably where he came in. This escape, it was a risk - not knowing who could be waiting on the other side, or if there was someone who was even there. Surely everyone was worrying about both of them, each gave something special to the group that no one else could, and they cared and were cared for by each member.

Holding his breath, Ludger pushed the door handle down and used his shoulder to open it slowly, looking out with extreme caution. No longer was he responsible for his own life, but his best friend's as well. Seeing no signs of any others, the man crept out with Jude held preciously against his chest and wasted no time darting from one shadowed area to the next. The only thing on his mind was to escape, to run away with Jude and their main escape was going to be the trash door that he had run away with Elle earlier.

"Hey!" A barking, hoarse voice resonated from behind both of them and Ludger hissed," Fucking shit!" His pace increased, no longer trying to sneak his way out. The sound of footsteps behind them echoed grimly in the hall and he could hear the person pursuing speaking, into a radio or something. Jude's fingers tightened into the other's shirt and gripped tightly, finding some kind of outlet to channel his pain into. His exhausted gaze fell onto the chaser behind them, dismay filling his heart and spreading through his veins when he saw him shouting into a walkie-talkie.

"Almost...there...!" Ludger gasped, feeling himself already worn out from running and sprinting so much today. Still he relentlessly dashed away until slamming his body into the door, yanking desperately at the handle and, to his despair, realized that it was locked. The signal that their pursuer gave probably caused others to lock all the doors.

Casting a vicious glare, Ludger quickly but carefully set Jude onto the ground and turned his body to face the guard, who was catching up to them. His blades were unsheathed from their concealing sheaths and he fearlessly charged forward, slashing the sharp metal and successfully splitting the voice transmitter in half, also nicking the other's fingers. The guard had no hesitation in whipping out two guns, one in each hand, and firing bullets at the ferret-fast Ludger. He dodged with ease, obviously much quicker and more experienced on his feet, and thrust both of the blades deep into the attacker's back, twisting and yanking away when jumping back. Like with all enemies, he vanished into a mortifying puff of black fragments.

Returning back to Jude, Ludger sheathed his bloody swords again and stood protectively over his injured companion and began to work on the lock. Seeing as there was no use being silent anymore, Jude decided to be the lookout for the other and spoke. "I-I'll watch your...back, Ludger..." He muttered, barely audible. The older other nodded in confirmation of hearing and sometimes would spit angry curses whenever he failed continuously to undo the lock. It was much, much more difficult to deal with than the cell locks - probably because, even if those were infiltrated, these would stop whoever was trying to leave.

Out of nowhere, down the corridor, a bullet came whizzing by at ungodly speed and struck inches from Jude's face, into the concrete wall beside him. He yelped in fear and caused Ludger to cast a wary look, abandoning their escape attempt for now and crouched in front of the smaller other and, using one hand to hold him close, his other hand pulled out a gun and fired back. In the swirling darkness it was very difficult to tell where and who the enemy was, but on the flip side they would be hard to aim at as well.

Mustering up some of his remaining energy, Jude's fingertips glowed with spirit artes, prepared to heal Ludger if and when he got shot. Sure enough, moments after the other had used himself as a body shield, he felt a piercing pain embed itself into his back and a strained, primal scream escaped him. Jude pressed one of his hands onto the other's stomach and muttered the spell under his breath, hearing his shuddered breathing ease as the pain evaporated into nothing. This wouldn't last forever, though, as each time the healing was used, Jude got a little more tired.

From down the hall, at a lucky shot of Ludger's, a hurt yelp ricocheted off the walls and the sound of a body hitting the floor reached them. Without wasting a second, he stood up and began to work at the lock again. Continuing his watch-dog job, Jude didn't hear anything for a few minutes before the unmistakable sound of many feet came. "Ludger...more are coming...!" He warned and used the wall, gritting his teeth, to stand up on his own. His left leg was still dead, but he hadn't used healing artes in the cell because that would have left him passed out without any kind of defense.

Having the escape door almost unlocked, Ludger was forced to leave his work and for a brief moment, let his fingers intertwine with Jude's. "I'll get us out of here, Jude." In the darkness, each could see the other's gaze looking. "I promise."


End file.
